Talisman

Xu Feng did not rush to choose yes or no. He turned the talisman over in his hand, studying it closely.

The talisman seemed to be made from some kind of wood. Long handling had worn its edges smooth. It was about half a middle finger long and thick, square, with writing on all four sides, but Xu Feng could not recognize a single character.

Rather than equip it immediately, he tried tapping the [Talisman] entry. To his surprise, it opened.

[Item: Talisman (reusable)]

[Grade: Unranked]

[Assessment: At a thousand doors and ten thousand homes, the rising sun shines bright; old peachwood charms are always replaced with new. A local master made this talisman from an old peachwood charm. Inscribed upon it are the words "The mountain lord's majesty; all things live and grow." It can exert a degree of deterrence against evil things assessed as inauspicious.]

[Its physical form serves as its durability; once shattered, it ceases to function.]

There was no further information.

Xu Feng was pleased. "So it's a talisman remade from an old door-god plaque. Inauspicious... There's that word again.

"An unranked magic item can deal with inauspicious things. In that case, perhaps they aren't so terrifying after all."

Xu Feng considered this more deeply.

Of course, the talisman was only "unranked."

But Xu Feng knew his own limits.

His skills might not even compare to an unranked talisman. With it on him, he would not have to worry about his soul being lured away in broad daylight.

It would give him another layer of protection while stitching corpses, too.

As he pondered this, someone else arrived at the door.

Xu Feng looked up. Even he was startled by what he saw!

Two filthy children stood in the doorway.

Filthy children were nothing new to Xu Feng. What he had never seen was a dog so enormous beside them!

It was a pure-black hunting hound without a single stray-colored hair. In the sunlight, its coat shimmered with seven colors—a truly "dazzling shade of black"!

Even standing still, the hound towered over both children.

It was as large as some mastiffs.

When Xu Feng glanced at it from the corner of his eye, he could even see what looked like a layer of thick black substance coursing through its fur!

For a moment, Xu Feng thought his master had frightened the children, and they had come to set their dog on him in revenge!

He soon realized he was overthinking it.

The black hound was even more perceptive than he had expected!

The children had brought it along to bolster their courage!

To keep Xu Feng from being afraid, the hound had even taken a bone in its mouth, showing that it would not bite.

It did not set a single paw inside the house.

Only after Xu Feng understood what was going on did he relax. He put away the talisman and began talking with the children.

They were reserved at first, but after a few words, they grew lively.

Xu Feng found the two youngsters easy to win over.

In no time, they had warmed to him. A little later, they were all romping together!

A few exchanges also gave Xu Feng a picture of Uncle Liu the executioner's household.

Executioners might ply a lowly trade, but they could be quite well-off.

Executing people was a craft, too, and there was more to it than simply chopping off heads.

Some skills were known to only one executioner among several.

Executioners like that were much like yamen runners.

Both passed their work from father to son.

In fact, the executioner's trade was passed down even more reliably than the yamen runners'! Whatever policies came from above, there were ways around them below, and those policies rarely troubled executioners!

The authorities might require yamen runners to rotate every few years.

But it was rare for them to demand the same of executioners.

Uncle Liu, for his part, had three sons.

Above these two children was an elder brother who had inherited their father's trade.

As they chatted, Xu Feng also picked up something from the children's offhand remarks.

Those who worked in trades theoretically deemed "lowly" were connected by a vast web of relationships.

Most of them were not minor clerks.

Minor clerks might be lowly in the eyes of officials, but to executioners and corpse-stitchers, they occupied a "high position."

Above executioners and corpse-stitchers stood the officials of the criminal division.

As for the two children, they did not know their own names, and Xu Feng could not tell whether either was a boy or a girl.

They looked about the same age to him.

They were called Third Child and Fourth Child.

Their elder brother was Second Child.

Xu Feng did not find out who First Child was. Perhaps the child had died young, or perhaps that place had deliberately been left empty to ward off an ill omen!

While they were talking, his master's voice came from outside.

"Don't let your backside take root at your Uncle Liu's place. Time to go!"

Xu Feng rose and patted the children's heads. In that short time, they had grown reluctant to see him leave. When he set off, they followed close on his heels.

Outside, Xu Feng saw his master standing with Uncle Liu.

The difference was that his master now carried many things. Most conspicuous were two iron shovels.

There was also something wrapped in cloth on his back. It looked like a blade, but it was too short.

And there were several jars.

Xu Feng hurried forward, steadied the jars, and set them on the wheelbarrow. As he handled them, he found they were all heavy.

That was not all.

Each jar had two handles and a long, narrow neck. Yellow paper talismans covered their bodies.

Even around their mouths,

Xu Feng saw something like beeswax sealing them tight.

Symbols painted in red marked the jars as well.

Seeing all of that on a single object could only make it seem inauspicious.

There were sixteen jars in all.

Once they had gathered them together, Uncle Liu and his master tied down each one securely, then covered them with straw mats.

The jars disappeared beneath the mats.

"There—"

When they were done, Uncle Liu took out a large water gourd and handed it to Xu Feng. "Take this for you and your master to drink on the road."

Xu Feng accepted it with both hands. Uncle Liu turned to his master. "I won't keep you. The roads haven't been safe lately. Leave now, and you should reach the village shrine before dark.

"Don't forget what I told you."

With that, he patted Xu Feng's shoulder.

His master said nothing.

Xu Feng helped his master into the harness, then kept one hand on the straw mats as they set off.

Long after they left, Uncle Liu was still standing at the village entrance, watching them.

Once they were some distance away, Xu Feng braced a hand against the cart and quietly put his strength into it. Ever since they had left the village, his master had not spoken a word.

Xu Feng did not disturb him. He silently equipped the [Talisman]. It was still only afternoon, and they did not need to enter the city, but outside its walls, the wolves' howls were growing more frequent.

Xu Feng even suspected that if he passed through a place like this at dusk, he would run into a pack of wolves!

A little while later, whether his master had finished thinking or the howling had roused him, he suddenly came back to himself. He glanced at Xu Feng and said, "Enough. Stop helping me push. Just walk beside me and talk.

"Your master has something to tell you!"